Time change coming earlier

Concerns surface about effect on computers, other electronic systems

Concerns surface about effect on computers, other electronic systems

March 09, 2007|By Angela Mettler

Employees at local computer retail and repair shops don't seem to be concerned that the new daylight-saving time - which begins Sunday, three weeks earlier than usual - will mess up computers and information technology systems. "I kind of think it'll come and go with no bigger deal than the year 2000," said Matt Pfaff, owner of Computer CPR. Since 1966, daylight-saving time began the first Sunday in April and ended the last Sunday in October. Starting this year, it begins the second Sunday in March and ends the first Sunday in November. The change was made in the hopes of saving energy. Many computers are programmed to change the time automatically on the old dates - prompting computer users in the U.S. and Canada to wonder how to adapt their computers to the new dates. Updating computers: Jim Roberts, owner of PC-LAN Computer Center, said individuals using home personal computers that run Microsoft Windows have two options: visit http://update.microsoft .com to download the daylight-saving time update; or, if the computer is set to automatically update, the daylight-saving update was probably already installed. To check if the update was installed, click the start button in the lower left-hand corner, choose Windows Updates, then click on "view update history." Home personal computers running Windows 2000 or older will have to update the time themselves, and individuals who depend on calendar programs for scheduling should visit the manufacturers' Web sites for updates. Macintosh users can go to www.apple.com/support/ and search for "daylight saving" for information on how to update their computers. Roberts said businesses with servers should have an information technology employee update the server, because the business's individual computers get their time from the server. If the server is not updated, employee calendars and schedules could be off by an hour, Roberts said. Alarm systems, access controls and security systems controlled by computers might also be affected, said Rollie Moerke, owner of Dakota Electronics. He said his employees are working to update their clients' systems, but it hasn't been a huge problem. "It's kind of more of a nuisance," he said. "We go out and try to cure the problem before it happens." Updating phones: Liz Schmidt, customer support coordinator at SDN Communications, said SDN has received many phone calls from businesses wondering if their telephone systems will update. She said the manufacturers of most telephone systems have patches that can be installed by a SDN technician. Cellular phone companies have also updated their systems to keep customers' phones on time. According to a news release from Verizon Wireless, the company "has made the appropriate adjustments to its network to ensure that the correct time registers on customers' handsets." Scott Morris, a spokesman for Alltel, said Alltel's digital phones will also update automatically through the network. Both companies advise customers with BlackBerry devices or personal digital assistants running Palm OS or Windows, including Alltel's UTStarcom 6700, to update those devices on the manufacturers' Web sites. Less power used: The Energy Policy Act of 2005 set the new dates for daylight-saving time. Congress passed the law in hopes that consumers will use less electricity because of the extended daylight hours. According to The Associated Press, studies done in the 1970s by the U.S. Department of Transportation projected possible savings in electricity usage of about 1 percent every day during daylight-saving time. Only the U.S. and Canada will begin the new daylight-saving time - the rest of the world will observe daylight-saving time as it always has. In the U.S., there is no federal law requiring the observance of daylight-saving time. Arizona, Hawaii, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands don't observe it.